BREEAM Credits Estimator

BREEAM is the world's leading sustainability assessment method for buildings, developed by BRE in the UK. It assesses environmental performance across 10 categories and awards ratings from Pass to Outstanding. According to BRE, over 600,000 buildings have been BREEAM certified worldwide (with more than 2.3 million registered).

Pass: 30%+. Good: 45%+. Very Good: 55%+. Excellent: 70%+. Outstanding: 85%+. Many local authorities require BREEAM Excellent for major developments, and some specify Outstanding for public buildings.

In BREEAM UK New Construction 2018 (fully fitted out), Energy (16%), Materials (15%), Health & Wellbeing (14%), Land Use & Ecology (13%) and Management (11%) carry the most weight, followed by Transport (10%), Pollution (8%), Water (7%) and Waste (6%); Innovation adds up to a further 10%. Focusing on the higher-weighted categories generally gives the best return for achieving higher ratings. Weightings differ for shell-only and shell-and-core assessments.

BREEAM requires certain minimum credits to be achieved for each rating level. For Excellent, these include minimum energy performance, water monitoring, construction waste management, and sustainable transport assessment. Missing a mandatory credit can prevent achieving the target rating.

Assessor fees vary widely by project size, complexity and target rating — roughly £2,500-£7,000 for smaller buildings and £8,000-£25,000+ for larger or complex new-construction projects (figures are approximate, 2025/26). BRE registration and certification fees are additional. The cost of achieving credits also varies: some (like management processes) are low cost, while others (like enhanced energy performance) require significant investment.